When Hurricane Sandy ravaged the East Coast last month, thousands of families and business owners lost homes, offices, personal possessions, productive working time and mission critical data. 

Even those homes and businesses who weren’t directly hit by the powerful storm surges and high tides may have lost mission critical data when power came back on following the storm. Power surges can cause logical and physical damage to hard disk drives and solid state drives, resulting in data loss. And, according to reports, this is not the end of the bad weather for the season for our northeastern friends. Wherever you live, here are some tips to help prevent data loss in the event of a power outage. 

1 – Prepare for a storm or possible power outage by backing up all mission critical data.

2 – Stay off plugged-in electronic devices such as PCs, Macs and laptops during a storm if there is any chance of a power outage. If you’re using a laptop, Macbook, iPad, tablet or smartphone, unplug the device and use battery power only.

3 – Use a surge protector year-round for your important electronic devices, including computers, laptops, servers and RAID arrays. 

4 – If you’re not using a computer or any piece of electronics, from your microwave to your flat screen TV, unplug it if there is a power outage, to protect it from power surges when power is restored. 

5 – If your computer fails to boot following a power outage or power surge, you may be able to troubleshoot the problem. It is most likely the power supply that was burnt out. Try switching out the power supply with another and booting up the machine. Another likely culprit is the motherboard, a component that can be switched out by IT staff or a layman with computer knowledge. If switching out either the power supply or motherboard works, but you still cannot access data files, do not attempt data recovery yourself. Call 24 Hour Data for a free, honest price quote and fast, friendly service. 

Many people do not realize the damage power surges can cause when power is restored to a neighborhood or industrial area following outages. During a storm, transformers can blow out, causing fires and power surges before the loss of power. Make sure to charge all electronic devices before a storm so you have them when you need them in the event of a power outage.